 Raika Hojo
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A cheerful and humble boy who's a bit sticky-fingered. He loves singing. He lacks a bit of common sense and has a hard time discerning "right" from wrong. He is a member of NEW DIMENSION's Special for Princess!. He wants to enjoy being an idol alongside the person he admires and have lots of people to listen to his songs. [1]
I'm Raika from NEW DIMENSION! I'm a rookie who only just recently debuted in the unit Esupuri, so I'm in the middle of learnin' lots about idols right now! 'Til the day I can become a splendid idol who can cheer up those who listen to my songs… I'll do my best alongside everyone! ♪[1]
Pre-Debut Profile (11/9/2024)
Pre-Debut Introduction Line (11/9/2024)
I am named Raika Hojo, and I am but a humble idol. I'm a halfwit who can't do nothin' but sing, but I heard from Sakuma-sama that being an idol means doin' what ya love as much as ya like, so I'll give it all I got! I don't know anything about the world, and I don't even know what an... audition? is, but it'd make me quite happy if ya'd give my songs a listen. ♪[2]
Appearance
Raika is a young boy of below average height and slim build. He has long, messy, dark teal hair that sticks out in tufts with the back grown out until the bottom of his torso, and red eyes. His outfit consists of a cream colored long sleeved top with an opening on the left sleeve exposing part of his arm, and a singular diagonal zipper along the bottom. It is decorated with a piece of red fabric that hangs from above the torso with the number '97'. This is worn over a sleeveless navy blue undershirt, light orange trousers with the legs rolled up, and a pair of brown sandals. He wears a silver chain around his neck.
Personality
Raika is a somewhat ditzy young boy, often referring to himself as bird-brained, demeaning his memory and information retention abilities. He speaks in an archaic sort of way, atypical for a child of his age, but hinting at the fact that he seems to have led a sheltered life up until now. In his first idol story, Raika attempts to hunt for small creatures to eat, as he's been hungry for quite some time and exhausts the last of his energy trying to catch something. This suggests that, while resourceful, Raika may be neglectful of his needs or just lack the means to get food, as he also states that he hasn't eaten for days in VS★GOURMET (though it's worth noting he was on the way to the 4piece venue at the time, to get "blessings" from an acquaintance there).
He also has what appears to be kleptomania and steals absentmindedly quite often, though he is aware it's wrong, he doesn't seem to register that what he's doing is considered stealing nor is he conscious of the ramifications until he's confronted. He steals Anzu's wallet in his first idol story, and food from Mitsuru in VS★GOURMET, and both times he apologizes profusely and says he didn't mean to do it. He attempts to balance out stealing Anzu's wallet with stuffing it full of bugs, as he thinks filling her wallet is a good repayment for the bad action of stealing; but as he has no money, he puts bugs in, and seems genuinely shocked when Anzu gets mad at him for it.
Raika also acts surprised when people treat him kindly, and he responds in earnest each time, amazed that he's being given grace and insisting he'll repay the person who's assisted him somehow. This implies that, while he has a poor memory and a habit of stealing, he's got good morals deep down. He is often apologetic when he thinks he's burdening others, even when they insist otherwise. He states that repaying others' kindness was taught to him in the facility he lived in[3]. He does, however, not hesitate to eat when food is presented to him, often scoffing it down so fast that it's regarded as impolite or poses a choking hazard to him.
Etymology
Hojo is written with 宝 (hou; treasure, wealth) and 丈 (jou; height, everything someone has). Raika is written with 萊 (rai; goosefoot, weed, fallow field) and 香 (ka; fragrance, scent).
Before his debut in VS Gourmet, Raika's last name was romanized as "Houjyo" on multiple occasions, reflected in the official PR materials where he was wearing his 4piece tshirt with name tag, and his original audition jersey live2d model. This was changed to be consistent with his in game romanization, and those promotional materials were reuploaded shortly after the originals to reflect the change.
Family
- For more information, see Raika Hojo/Family.
Raika's family has been mentioned to be distant relatives of the Sakuma family.[4]
Trivia
- Raika's first-person pronoun of choice is 拙 (setsu), making him the first person in the series to use this pronoun. It's a humble, almost self-deprecating and relatively old way to refer to oneself, which is consistent with some of the language Raika uses.
- He is stated to be a descendant of harpies by Rei in his second idol story, which is in line with the fact that Raika often refers to himself with birdlike terms.
- At the facility, he was referred to as "Number 38". [5]
- As Special for Princess!'s in universe debut is confirmed to have taken place after his ESY2 birthday on May 22nd[6], Raika is 15 years old in all post-debut events and stories.
 Raika Hojo
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| Special for Princess! | Esu • Kanna • Yume • Raika | |
| 4piece | Esu Sagiri • Ibuki Taki • Kanna Natsu • Fuyume Hanamura • Raika Hojo • Nice Arneb Thunder | |